Which was the first drive-in theatre?
The first DRIVE-IN CINEMA was the Camden Automobile Theatre, opened by Richard Hollingshead on a 10-acre site off Wilson Boulevard, Camden, N.J. on 6 June 1933 with a presentation of Wife Beware with Adolphe Menjou. The giant screen measured 40 x 30 ft and there was accommodation for 400 cars. The sound came from high-volume screen speakers provided by RCA-Victor. The expansion of drive-ins began very slowly; twelve years after the opening of the Camden there were still only 60 in the whole of the United States. The growth years were the same as for television, for no clear reason. In 1949 there were 1,000 drive-ins and the peak was reached in 1958 with 4,063 against 12,291 hard-tops. There are now less than a thousand.
